Ballet

This is probably the closest thing to a ‘gym’ I’ll ever go in my entire life as a wimp – but here I am Internet, off the couch and in a tutu. This of course does not mean I’ve divorced Nutella, it just means I’ll probably cry less while emptying a jar in the middle of the night. The gym does scare me though, all those metal, long, straight, round things I’d have no idea what to do with. Plus if the treadmill is meant to be used as if you’re running on the street then I’d probably sit on it with a Snickers bar and wait for the bus. Alas, by the end of year 2013 my eczema was starting to take its toll – nothing I put on my skin worked, and the more I researched treatments, it wasn’t down to the type of ointment/cream I was applying on my skin but ultimately what goes in me: food and exercise. So, generic New Years resolutions aside, I decided to get my act together. I’d read something about the Special K program by Kelloggs and decided to put myself on it, mostly for discipline but also because I wanted to track my progress – a year down the line I wanted to say SUCK IT to eczema and part with it forever. Kelloggs kindly pitched in to support the ’cause’, and I chose beginners ballet because I’d always wanted to learn. Give me a few months, I’m kicking this eczema in the ballsack, look out for updates.

If you’re looking for ballet classes in London, FRAME do fantastic ballet classes for beginners, called Basic Barre, (or Ballet Barre for the more experienced) that generally helps you tone and improve posture and balance. For longer programs, City Academy offers a wide range of ballet courses in many levels. Another two I recommend are Danceworks and Pineapple Studios, two I frequented as a student (for hiphop classes) that offer singular classes.

For those kind, brave-hearted folks who follow me on Instagram will know that I’ve recently taken on a 6-week beginners’ ballet course at the City Academy, all part of a personal ‘spring clean’ campaign brought on by a sudden onset of severe eczema a couple months back. It’s still a bit of a battle, although the flare-ups are much less aggressive nowadays… I’m still trying to adjust my lifestyle and work towards curbing it, accepting it can’t be completely cured. A spot of ballet every week seemed like a gentle, manageable solution to get myself back to being a little physical, while revisiting something I loved doing imitating when I was a kid. Coincidentally, a week into the course, I got an email from Nina Ricci to work on a video to coincide the launch of their new bag, named Ballet. It felt natural, so I accepted. We shot the video in Frame, my preferred dance-studio in Shoreditch (long time-followers will also remember this particular Black Swan-inspired barré class 2 year ago), and while I was hoping to explain the connection to my personal initiative, we decided to keep it light and frothy (+ squeaky). Thankfully, the bag isn’t all that fluffy and airy in character, it’s actually a very solid construction of beautiful, supple leather met with suede; golden metallic detailing that hint on a bit of maturity and luxuriousness. If anything, it”s the size of the bag that gives away the personality of the owner, carrying a little more than what’s necessary, perhaps hiding a secret or two it the interior. Hope you enjoy the video!